Ryan Klemm makes clutch throws to boost Newfield
Newfield quarterback Ryan Klemm (5) rolls to the right to throw during the first half of the Long Island Football Championships at Hofstra University on Friday, Nov. 27, 2015. Credit: Joseph D. Sullivan
Just call him Reliable Ryan Klemm.
"Ryan always knows what to say and he always knows what to do," fullback/linebacker Isaiah Israel said.
Newfield's senior quarterback is the quiet leader of the Wolverines' noisily explosive offense. And on Friday night, he made some of the biggest plays in Newfield's 41-33 victory over gritty MacArthur in the Long Island Class II championship game at Hofstra.
"He got the job done. He made the right reads at the right time," coach Joe Piccininni said.
Things didn't start out well for Klemm, as he suffered a 13-yard sack that ended one drive and had zero passing yardage after the first quarter. "I was a little jittery," he said. "But we played our game in the second quarter."
Klemm threw TD passes of 26 yards to Jelani Greene, 62 yards to Denzel Williams and 20 yards on a deep slant to Austin Gubelman on the last play of the first half to give the Wolverines a 27-7 lead. For the game, Klemm completed 13 of 18 passes for 241 yards and three touchdowns.
When MacArthur moved within 27-26 entering the fourth quarter and seemed determined to take away deep passing threats Greene and Elijah Riley, Newfield had to rely on Klemm to regain control. On successive plays, he cleverly dumped screen passes to Gubelman for 9 and 16 yards, the latter for a huge third-down conversion.
"They were sending backers the whole game. We had to slow them down. Our coaches made great calls right there," Klemm said.
On fourth-and-8 at the MacArthur 22, Klemm stood in the pocket and drilled a pass over the middle to Israel for 14 yards. "It was an F-hook. That's 'F' for fullback," Israel said. "Ryan got it there and I bobbled it at first, but then I caught it." On the next play, Riley high-stepped it into the end zone from the 8 for a 34-26 lead.
The Wolverines put away the game on their next offensive series. Riley took direct snaps on successive plays out of the Wildcat and ran for 15 and 30 yards, the latter for a touchdown.
"I don't mind being on the sidelines when Eli is in the Wildcat," Klemm said. "He's a great player. In my opinion, he's the best player on Long Island. Sometimes it's better to just get him the ball directly."
That observation, like Klemm's passes for much of the night, was right on the money.
